Many maintenances have been conventionally required in an image forming apparatus such as a copy machine, a printer or the like. The reason for the maintenances is that the image forming process of the image forming apparatus holds good on a delicate balance, and the adjustment of balance of each units in the image forming apparatus is required for carrying out good image forming. Further, as a reason for requiring the maintenances, for example, when a low grade paper is used, paper powder adheres on a photosensitizer and the image forming is not carried out well, and the deterioration of a rubber member and the like are mentioned. In particular, concerning the imaging unit for realizing elecrophotography system, there are many requirements for carrying out the maintenance in order to exhibit its quality to maximum. Further, the imaging unit is a system for forming a toner image by elecrophotography process, in the present specification, and means a unit including a development unit for visualizing an image carrier and an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier by toner.
Further, since the life time of the imaging unit is usually shorter than the main body of an image forming apparatus excluding the imaging unit, exchanges are required many times in a process of using one image forming apparatus. For example, as a reason why the life time of the imaging unit is shortened, the wear of the image carrier (photosensitizer), the occurrence of a toner spent phenomenon in which the toner adheres on carrier because of long term use and electrification property and the like are deteriorated in case of two components-development system, and the like are mentioned.
By the way, a maintenance work in which the imaging unit is repaired or exchanged in the use process of the image forming apparatus is divided into a work in which experts such as the service man of a maker and the like mainly carry out repairing, and a work in which a user himself carries out exchange.
In case of a maintenance by the service man and the like, since the imaging unit which is an object of maintenance is repaired by them as many as possible, the imaging unit is scarcely disposed by exchange, and it has a merit of reducing a waste. However, in this case, there is a demerit that a so-called down time that a user cannot use the image forming apparatus until the repairing and exchange by the service man and the like terminate occurs. In particular, concerning the field of a printer which is going to enlarge the market and overseas users, the number of users exceed the number for requiring the service men, and a distance from a service center to the settled location of the image forming apparatus is long, therefore the service men cannot early carry out adequate maintenances, and there is a fear that the down time occurs.
On the other hand, as the image forming apparatus whose maintenance by a user is possible, for example, there are known those in which a process cartridge which integrally constituted an image carrier (photosensitizer) and a development unit is provided in a condition in which it can be freely attached and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Since the process cartridge is made by integrating the image carrier (photosensitizer) and the development unit, it has a merit that a user can easily exchange a process cartridge whose life time has been terminated. However, since a user can easily attach and detach the process cartridge, there is high possibility of being disposed without collecting as a recycle product, therefore a sure recycle is not attained. As described above, there has been a subject in a conventional image forming apparatus how the maintenance, specifically, the maintenance of the imaging units is carried out.
By the way, according to the recent technical innovation by the present inventor, the life time of the imaging units have been steadily elongated. For example, concerning the image carrier (photosensitizer) which has been difficult to maintain quality until the life time of an image forming apparatus, the present inventor succeeded in developing a technology of elongating the life time. According to the technical innovation, the life time of the imaging units can be coped with the life time of the image forming apparatus, or is going to attain a level having a longer life time than the main body of the image forming apparatus.
Thus, when the life time of the imaging units is elongated, the reuse of the imaging units is considered. Wherein ‘reuse’ is different from ‘recycle’ in which the imaging units are dismantled and repairing and reproduction by every part are carried out, and means the reutilization of a mode of inserting the imaging units which are extracted from the main body of the image forming apparatus, in the other main body of the image forming apparatus to be used.
Thus, when the reuse of the imaging units comes to be carried out in many image forming apparatuses, its management comes to be important. In particular, in case of a color image forming apparatus, when each imaging units are separately treated in a reuse process, the imaging units having different terms used exist in mixture, therefore there is a fear that the management becomes troublesome.